Chapter 2: The Beginning
"Dude, just because you twisted your wrist doesn't mean you don't have to help carry our stuff in." Dean complained as he dropped their bags onto the floor of the motel room.
Sam, who was stretched out on his stomach on the bed, looked up from the laptop. "It's broken Dean, not twisted. You heard the doctor, let it heal." He gave a devilish smirk. "Besides, I'm doing my job. Research."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Whatever wimp. So give me the run down on this thing again."
Sam let the comment slide. Dean had been doing nothing but ribbing him about his broken hand for a week now. He couldn't wait until the cast came off. He was just as tired of it as he was his brother's remarks.
"So back in the late eighteen hundreds this family, the Connors, lived in the house on the outskirts of town. Town rumors were the mother and two daughters were witches. Everyone pretty much steered clear of them. Until some kid in the town came down with an illness that they'd never seen before. The doctors didn't know what was wrong with him. The little boy's friends said that they had been playing in the field near the Connors house when the Mom yelled at them that they were trampling her flowers. After that the kid got sick and the town started screaming witch and curse. They arrested the mom and tried to make her break the curse. She swore she did nothing and couldn't help him. A couple of days later the kid died. The town people took the mom home, let her go back into her house, then lit the place on fire. They killed the mom, dad, the two sisters, and their little brother."
"Damn" Dean shook his head. "Any truth to them being witches?"
"Don't know. Kinda hard to sort through what's a rumor and what's not. I'm still looking. But what is fact is that a house was rebuilt on the property. Actually, ever since it happened someone builds a house on the property, but it mysteriously burns down. Every time. And each time, the family, if they survived, claimed there were strange occurrences before the fire."
"But the house that's there is empty now right?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, the family made it out and the fire didn't totally destroy the house this time. But they aren't going back. They took the belongings they wanted and pretty much abandoned the place. There's already a for sale sign, even though the place isn't fixed yet."
Dean glanced at his watch. "Well Sammy boy, it's a little after eight. Up for some recon?"
Sam rolled his eyes at Deans wording, "Yeah, let's go check it out."
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Unfortunately for the them, it turned out that the outskirts of town, wasn't that far out anymore. The house itself stood on a good size piece of property still, but progress was visible all around. New housing tracts and strip malls weren't too far away. And neighbors were closer than they had hoped. Not as much cover as they preferred. But it was dark now and no one pulled off stealthy better than the Winchester brothers.
Dean pulled up the front driveway and killed the headlights. Without words, both of the boys exited the car and made their way to the trunk. When Sam had first come back to the hunt, he and Dean had been slightly off sync. But after the first few weeks, he fell back into the old patterns. Now he and Dean could get ready for a hunt without saying a word to each other, and feel totally confident in the other being fully prepared. Just like now. In total silence and with understanding how each worked, they loaded themselves down with the necessary equipment. Shoulder to shoulder they made their way to the front porch of the house. Sam smiled to himself. It used to be that Dean would walk just ever so slightly in front of Sam. It was always a painful reminder to Sam that he was the youngest and most inexperienced. However, now they walked side by side, and even with all the crap they had been through this last year, and all the fights and arguments, with that small gesture, Dean was showing Sam he looked at him as an equal now. Sam was surprised that gave him such a good feeling, considering how he had felt all of his life about hunting. But now, having his brother's respect meant more than anything.
Dean reached the top step and ducked under the 'Caution' tape. He motioned to Sam and within a few seconds his little brother jimmied the lock and the front door opened. They turned on their flash lights and slinked through the door way. Both were on full alert. Dean pulled the EMF out of his pocket and began sweeping.
Sam stayed close by, taking in the sight before him. The fire had started in the kitchen, according to the fire department. It was under control quickly, but there was still some damage, and a lot of smoke and water damage. But thankfully, the house was still standing solid. He was glad they wouldn't have to worry about it falling down on them.
"Anything?" he asked Dean.
"Uh uh. Nice and quiet." Dean told him as he moved from room to room. "Let's check out upstairs."
Sam nodded and followed him up. As they entered the middle of the hallway the EMF let out a small buzz and the signal went up. But not by much. Dean and Sam looked at each other and shrugged. Dean continued on and Sam lagged behind, trying to get any 'feelings' from the place. As he was glancing down the hall a light flashed in the mirror next to him and a shadow appeared, then disappeared just as fast. He spun to look directly at the mirror and put his flash light on it, but only saw his own face reflected. All of a sudden his senses felt like they were on over drive. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he got goose bumps all over. He spun around to find Dean and found that he wasn't within view. As he started to take off to find his brother he felt a cold wind blow right through him. Out of the corner of his eye he caught the glimpse of another shadow. But when he looked at it straight on it wasn't there. Then he felt something touch his arm. He jerked to the side.
"Dean!" he yelled, and brought his gun up to the ready. But he still couldn't see anything. And then suddenly he smelled smoke. "That can't be good." he muttered. "Hey Dean! Let's go man!"
Dean suddenly reappeared. "What's the problem Sammy?"
"I think we have company, but I can't see it. Do you smell the smoke?"
Dean made a face and sniffed the air, "I don't smell anything."
Sam found that he no longer smelled it either. "I smelled it, but it's gone now." He went quiet.
"You okay?" Dean asked. To him Sam looked confused and on edge.
"Yeah. I think something was just messing with me. Let's go back to the motel so I can do some more research on these people."
Dean shrugged. "Yeah all right. I'm not getting anything." he pocketed his EMF. "I could go for some food. You hungry?"
"Not really, but I'll go with you." Sam said. He still felt on edge. He felt as though they were being watched, even as they made their way out the front door.
Dean didn't miss the way Sam was acting, "You sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine Dean. Let's just go eat."
"Fine." Dean agreed. He wasn't in the mood to push Sam and get into an argument. There was plenty of time for that tomorrow.
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The mirror came flying at him, he barely had time to duck. It smashed into the wall behind him. From somewhere to the side he heard Dean screaming something, but he couldn't make out what he was saying over the noise. He still couldn't make out what the noise was, but it was drowning out everything else, even his brother's voice. The smell of smoke was intensifying now, to the point it was almost choking him. But he still couldn't see it. Suddenly a scream filled the house. A woman's scream. He turned to get Dean's attention, but his brother was no where in sight. He began to panic. He knew something wasn't right when they had came here, but he didn't listen to his instinct. He started toward where Dean was last standing. But before he got far he suddenly felt a force hit him square in the chest, causing him to fly back against the wall.
"You shouldn't be here." A voice whispered in his ear. He tried to move, but he was pinned. The pressure on his chest was throbbing and causing his breath to hitch in his throat every time he inhaled. Then he saw it. The figure moving down the hallway. No floating down the hallway. Towards him. The closer it got he could see it was a woman in a long full dress. She came up to him. He could almost see through her and he noticed here eyes were black.
"Everyone will pay for the desecration of our land!" She screamed into his face.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
Then suddenly the pressure on his chest was released and she vanished. He thought maybe he caught a break and he started to go look for Dean. But he heard that shrill scream again and all of a sudden, all he could see was fire.
Sam shot up, the blankets on the bed tangled around his legs. He was sweating and panting. It took a moment for him to realize it was just a dream, that he was in the motel room. Safe. He glanced toward the other bed and saw that he had not disturbed Dean. He found that a little odd, but was thankful Dean wasn't over him right now demanding a play by play. The clock on the night stand showed it was 3:30 am. With a soft sigh he got out of bed and went into the bathroom, quietly closing the door. He stood in front of the mirror and turned on the tap, splashing cold water on his face.
"It was just a dream." he whispered to his reflection. He put his head down again and splashed more water.
As he did, he never noticed the shadow that was now reflected in the mirror above him. Turning off the light he headed back to bed. Just as he was getting comfortable he heard Dean shift. Before Dean even said a word Sam said, "I'm fine Dean."
In a sleepy voice, Dean replied, "It's 3:30 and we're both up Sam. That's not fine. Vision or nightmare?"
"Neither." Sam lied. "I just had to go the bathroom. That does happen occasionally."
Dean was quiet for a minute. If Sam could have seen him, he would have seen him roll his eyes. "Fine. Be that way Sammy. But next time you lie, at least make it believable and flush the damn toilet." He let out an irritated sigh and rolled over, making sure Sam took the hint and knew the conversation was over.
Sam sighed and shook his head. It sucked to be made a fool of. He really needed to get better at lying quickly like Dean. But his mind was a little foggy right now.
He felt bad. He knew Dean was only worried about him. But it was just a dream. Nothing more. No vision. Hell, he didn't even have a headache. There was no reason to force his brother into any more Dr. Phil moments. God knew they'd had enough of those lately. He even didn't think he could stand another one right now.
"Night Dean." he whispered and laid down.
"Night Sammy." Dean whispered back. But instead of closing his eyes, Dean stared at the curtains, looking at the street light that was shining through the cracks. He was sure Sam had a vision or something. He would just have to wait his brother out until he gave up what was going on. But until then, Dean would make sure he was okay. He lay there, wide awake for another twenty minutes, until he heard Sam's breaths even out and was sure his little brother was asleep. Only then did he close his eyes and relax.
-TBC-
Wow, thank you all for the wonderful reviews you've left so far! I really appreciate them. I just had to do my first chapter that way, and vent a little about Ellen. So hope you like where the story is going. Don't forget to drop me a line!